1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for holding a reed on a mouthpiece of a musical instrument, commonly referred to as a ligature. More specifically, it deals with a ligature involving a pair of elastomeric O-rings held at a predetermined distance apart.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The contemporary mouthpiece of conventional clarinets and saxophones usually consists of a thin flat reed attached to a hard rubber mouthpiece by a ligature such that the reed is free to vibrate and generate sound when the musician plays the instrument. Various ligatures have historically been employed to hold the reed to the mouthpiece with varying degrees of success. One of the earliest methods of attaching the reed was by use of thread or string repeatedly wrapped around the reed and mouthpiece. Because of the time consuming nature of the hand winding of reeds which must be redone frequently and because of the need for quick and easy adjustment and replacement of reeds, the use of various types of metal bands with thumb screw tension adjustments have virtually replaced the string wound ligature. However, literature recognizes that the resilience of a string provides sufficient flexibility to the reed to produce a superior quality tone, timbre and sound relative to a rigid metal clamping type ligature.
Various alternatives through the years have been suggested and proposed. For example, in an early German Pat. No. 384,940, the use of an elastic band with a metal clip for applying tension was proposed but has not proven successful. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,584 a frusto-conical sleeve ligature lined with felt was suggested as a substitute for a metal ligature. More recently U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,481 discloses the use of a resilient rubber inlay at the reed mounting surface in combination with a rigid sleeve ligature while U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,535 reverts back to the use of a wrapped string which is mounted in a metal bracket ligature for applying tension by stretching or tightening the string. This latter patent further recognizes that the spacing between successive wrappings of the string influences the quality of the music being produced. Other compromises between ease of use and quality of sound have been suggested, such as a quick release string steel ligature of British Pat. No. 1,530,309. However, none of these ligatures can be considered as having achieved the best of both worlds.